The mystery surrounding ‘Hvaldimir’, a beluga whale found wearing a harness with Russian markings, has taken a tragic turn. The whale, nicknamed after the Norwegian word for whale, ‘hval’, and its supposed ties to Moscow, was discovered dead off the southwest coast of Norway at Risavika. The discovery was made by Marine Mind, an organization that had been tracking Hvaldimir’s movements for years.
Hvaldimir first appeared off the coast of Norway’s far-northern Finnmark region in 2019. Norwegian marine biologists removed a harness from the whale, which was equipped with a mount for an action camera and bore the words ‘Equipment St. Petersburg’ on its plastic clasps. This led to speculation that the whale had been trained by the Russian Navy and might have escaped captivity.
While Moscow never officially commented on these suspicions, Norwegian officials suggested that Hvaldimir had likely been trained by the Russian Navy due to his apparent familiarity with humans. The whale’s death, discovered on Saturday, has raised further questions about his unusual circumstances.
Marine Mind founder Sebastian Strand, who discovered Hvaldimir’s lifeless body, confirmed that the whale was found floating motionless. A preliminary inspection revealed no visible injuries, and the cause of death remains unknown. The whale’s remains have been retrieved and are being prepared for a necropsy by the veterinary institute to determine the cause of death.
At an estimated age of 14 or 15, Hvaldimir was considered relatively young for a beluga whale, which can live up to 60 years. Beluga whales typically inhabit the icy waters around Greenland, northern Norway, and Russia, including the Barents Sea, a region crucial for monitoring submarine movements by Western and Russian forces. This area also serves as a gateway to the Northern Route, a shortened maritime passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Hvaldimir’s death adds another layer of intrigue to the mystery surrounding this unique whale. While the cause of his death remains unknown, investigations are underway to shed light on the circumstances surrounding his demise and his unusual connection to Russia.
